The Life of a Refugee— Zahra’s Story
Zahra is more than a 34-year-old mother of 5. Aside from being a mother, she is also an Afghani refugee here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She, her husband and her kids have been refugees in Malaysia for the last 6 years as they had fled from Iran due to their differences and struggles of being an Afghani refugee. From the moment she was born, she’d been a refugee, her parents had fled Afghanistan to Iran due to major wars and persecution and have not been back since.
According to history, the first wave of Afghan nationals to leave Afghanistan and become refugees took place during the 1979 Soviet Invasion, countries such as Pakistan and Iran began providing Afghanis refuge within their borders. This movement continued, then in 1992 a major civil war occurred as the country was overrun by an Islamist military group which urged more nationals to leave their homes behind in search for safer lands, thus leaving them to become refugees.
A refugee is defined as a person who is forcibly put in a position that results in them having to leave their country due to war, persecution or natural disaster. These individuals are not put in situations such as these by their own doing, but are merely seen as pawns in an even larger scheme forced to leave all that they know in search of safety. Currently in the world 70.8 million people have been displaced and 2.7 million of them are Afghanis and they represent the second-largest refugee population in the world.
Zahra’s story is similar to many; she speaks of hardships that one should never have to face as well as the disappointment from never having seen her own home. Many refugees nowadays are considered to be second or third generation refugees.
“After I was born, I just opened my eyes in another country, I’ve only heard about Afghanistan but have never seen myself. I know in Afghanistan there is always for more than 40 years a fight, all I know about my home is what I see on the TV. I’ve always had questions in my mind, why do we not have a good country, why are we not safe and why must we always run.” says Zahra.
Living in Malaysia as a refugee has been somewhat easier compared to seeking refuge in Iran. Having moved here 6 years ago, Zahra and her family are registered under UNHCR, a United Nations programme that helps ensure the safety of refugees. With this registration, refugees are given an identification card that states they are refugees but nothing more.
Refugees like Zahra are not seen differently compared to migrant workers and still hold the risk of being detained or deported here in Malaysia. They are also restricted when it comes to employment and education as well as access to private and public healthcare, and the restriction of healthcare is also due to the cost of treatments. In reality, the use of the “refugee status” does not aid them in any way, and they are typically left defenseless here in Malaysia.
“The UNHCR, can’t help the refugees too much, because it’s not just about me and my family, there are so many refugees and we all have problems, very dangerous problems and situations but I can say thank you to Malaysia, for giving us a place, because we are safe here and that is better.” explains Zahra.
Zahra and her family patiently await the day where the UNHCR offers them a permanent placement in another country, to them Malaysia is just a temporary stop not a place in which they feel at home or feel as though they’re able to build a life. The mere opportunity of being able to go someplace else gives them hope in one day being able to stop running and start living.
